Armani Doesn’t Feel Well

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve met Armani. I wrote a story about Armani to help kids who might have to take medicine they don’t like.

Armani is a cat who came to live with me the week before I started graduate school. His mother was a stray, and he and all his brothers and sisters needed homes. Unfortunately, my landlord said I couldn’t take them all, but I’ve been Armani’s cat-mom for more than 10 years.

Armani likes to sit on his favorite blanket when receiving pets.

Armani likes to eat, sleep, watch cars from the window, and chew on things I’d rather he not chew on. He likes to sit on top of the refrigerator and yell if I don’t share my dinner with him. And since I started working from home, he likes turning off my camera in the middle of sessions and showing his butt to my clients.

This queen-sized bed is exactly big enough for one cat.

A couple of months ago, Armani started having a lot of trouble climbing to his favorite spots. We thought he might have developed arthritis, but he also showed some muscle weakness, and we took him to the vet, where we learned he has diabetes.

The good news is, diabetes is treatable! The bad news is, the treatment involves shots twice a day and blood draws twice a month to make sure he is getting better. As you can imagine, he does not love getting poked with needles. Like a lot of the kids I see for work, Armani does not like taking his medicine.

Business cat is ready for an important meeting

But since he started taking his medicine, Armani has started getting better! He is happier and more comfortable, and although he can’t quite get back up on the refrigerator yet, he can climb onto the kitchen counter!

He’s not allowed on the stove but I don’t even care

Even though Armani doesn’t like getting his shots, he lets me give them because he knows he will keep getting stronger. He just thought you would like to know.

Published by Dr Marschall

Dr. Amy Marschall received her Psy.D. from the University of Hartford in September 2015. She completed her internship at the National Psychology Training Consortium with specializations in assessment and rural mental health. Currently, she specializes in trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming care, and she is certified in telemental health. Dr. Marschall runs a private practice, RMH Therapy, where she provides individual and family therapy as well as psychological assessments across the lifespan. Dr. Amy Marschall is an author and professional speaker.

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